Under the terms of the confidential Settlement Agreement, the suit pending in Maine will be voluntarily dismissed with prejudice. The patent dispute involved Ceva’s patents related to methods of gel delivery for treating poultry hatchlings (the “Gel Delivery Patents”).

The Settlement Agreement includes, among other terms, an acknowledgement by ClearH₂O of the validity of Ceva’s Gel Delivery Patents by inclusion of a notice on its single-phase HydroDrop^® products that are sold into the poultry industry for use in hatcheries after October 31, 2021 indicating that such products are not approved for poultry vaccine use. ClearH₂O has also agreed not to promote single-phase gel products in a manner inconsistent with such notice. As part of the settlement, Ceva agreed not to challenge ClearH₂O’s double-phase Semi-Firm Gel Patent.

Marc Prikazsky, President of Ceva Santé Animale, stated “We are pleased with this settlement and believe that it clearly demonstrates the strength of our Gel Delivery Patents. We look forward to continuing our delivery of innovative vaccine products and solutions such as our CevaGel^® Droplet Technology to our customers in the poultry industry."

CevaGel^® Droplet Technology includes a patented application method for mixing vaccine into CevaGel^®, a specific diluent that forms gel droplets to provide effective and uniform vaccine delivery to chicks.

Kathie Dioli, President of ClearH₂O, stated “We are pleased that this agreement will allow ClearH₂O to offer our single-phase HydroDrop^® product for non-vaccine uses and our patented, double-phase AquaDrop^® products through our GelDrop^® Delivery System for all poultry hatchery processing administration, including vaccines, probiotics, and nutrient supplements.”

About ClearH₂O^®

ClearH₂O^® is a Maine-based life science company meeting the needs of leading animal researchers, veterinarians, breeders and producers globally. ClearH2O provides products that optimize the delivery of hydration, nutrition, biologics and therapeutics to enrich animals’ lives and improve productivity.

About Ceva Santé Animale

Ceva Santé Animale is a French multinational veterinary pharmaceutical company created in 1999. Chaired by Dr. Marc Prikazsky, Ceva specializes in the research, development, production and marketing of pharmaceutical products and vaccines for livestock (ruminants, swine, poultry) and companion animals. Ceva is present in 110 countries and employs over 6000 people worldwide.